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WHCP: Wellhead Control Panel
WHCPs are also known as Shutdown Panels (SDP), Emergency Shutdown Systems (ESD) or
Hydraulic Safety Shutdown System (HSSS). These are failsafe shutdown systems which have
pneumatic/hydraulic/electric components; WHCPs can also be integrated with PLC/ RTU/
SCADA. WHCPs are standalone control systems as well as an interface between the plant
control and the wellhead safety system. WHCPs are used for monitoring, controlling
(Remote/Local) and safe shutdown of Subsurface Controlled Safety Valves (SCSSV), Surface
Safety Valves (SSV), and other wellhead safety valves (Choke, ESD, HIPPS) in oil & gas
production fields to ensure safe operation of unattended wells/platforms.
WHCPs may have multiple applications, which include, but are not limited to
Safe and Sequential Operation of Wellhead Valves (SCSSV/SSV/Wing Etc.)
Emergency and Fire Shutdown
Safe Operation of Riser Valves
Flow line Pressure control
Well Test Operation
HIPPS /ESD/ Choke Valve Control
Partial Stroking
Overview of Wellhead Control Panel
Gas wells and oil wells has a high potential hazard, either because the material ejected
flammable nor the potential hazard of the gas pressure is high. Wellhead control panel is key
equipment in oil & gas industry to protect oilfield facilities and environment from occurring
wellhead fire and emergency incidents, which is one of main control systems to ensure oilfield
oil production and transportation to be safely operation according to international standards
and national regulation.Its function is to shut down the well in case conditions that harm or for
other interventions as well as the work test, etc.
Wellhead control panel is composed of hydraulic power unit (HPU), tubing & fitting and
instrument valve and electrical control devices. HPU supply hydraulic resource to open and
close SSVs including MSSV, WSSV and SCSSV.
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The level of complexity of each well head control panel vary, each company has its own
standard. So the definition of well head control panel in General will certainly vary, the
definition of well head control panel if we review of its functionality is part of the surface
facilities of the gas well or an oil well that is used to control well, like: be it to shutdown system,
the casing pressure reading parameters, tubing pressure reading parameters, temperature
well parameters. So to open or close a Wing Valve (WV), Master Valve (MV), as well as Down
Hole Safety Valve (DHSV) can be through the Wellhead control panel. Generally inside
wellhead control panel consists of control pneumatic or hydraulic. Control pneumatic or
hydraulic composed of tubing and three way valve.
Here I will only discuss WHCP from gas wells, as I understand. Function or application WHCP
depending of each type of wellhead control panel. It is a simple system, until there is a tricky. If
it can be inferred is actually a function of well head control panel is to operate well, be it for
shut in and POP (put on production). With the wellhead control panel we able to open or
closed the DHSV via the push button in panel. Also we can open or close a master valve or
wing valve with push button in the panel as well. It was all done manually, by pressing or
pulling a push button. But to close the DHSV, Master valve, Wing Valve can be done
automatically, namely through the integration with shutdown system from the well. Surely this
should follow the philosophy of the shutdown system used by each company .
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By looking at the picture, it will give an overview of what functionality or usability of the
wellhead control panels. The components are visible in the picture can be grouped into:
All of these components will give feedback or as a input signal to the Wellhead control
panel (WHCP). While in the well itself (flowline) there is a sensor that is used to monitor the
condition of the well, either to shutdown the system, or just for readability only.
Instrumentation for shutdown system e.g.:
PALL (pressure switch low low)
PAHH (pressure switch high high)
The Fusible plug (for detection of fires), usually mounted above fangles, or parts that there is a
possibility of leaks (the source of fire)
The instrumentation used for reading, for example:
FR (flow recorder) or Flow Indicator
PR (pressure recorder) or Pressure indicator
TR (temperature recorder) or Temperature Indicator
The Final element of the system shutdown:
DHSV, Down hole Safety valve ( drived by hydraulic power)
MV, master valve (drived by hydraulic power)
SSV, surface safety valve (drived by pneumatic power)
Choke valve, manually operated
SDV (shutdown valve) installed in flow line of well, outside the part of the wellhead (Xmastree)
Valves are a part of which will receive command of the signal to be opened or closed from
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Wellhead control panel. So if I can give analogical WHCP is a controller (a control system),
SSV, MV, DHSV, SDV are the part that receives the output from the controller, while the PALL,
PAHH, fusible plug is the input of the controller. But don’t imagine WHCP like PLC in General.
WHCP I discuss here is that it uses control pneumatic or hydraulic.
Why WHCP generally use pneumatic control, because most of the well gas wells far location
(remote) so hard to find sources of energy such as electricity. And generally WHCP from gas
wells using gas from the well itself as a source of pneumatic power. Later will be discussed
where the pneumatic power source to run the WHCP. With pneumatic power from gas, we can
also have hydraulic power, i.e. by install the hydraulic pump on run by pneumatic power.
Hydraulic power is used to run valve actuator which relatively large power needs. Pneumatic
powered convert hydraulic power can become larger by using the pump.
The Problems That Often Arise in Wellhead Control Panel (WHCP)
From the various experiences, The problems that often arise in WHCP are leaking, popping,
and stuck. Commonly Leaking occurred in the connection of nuts on tubing. It could be leaking
at a three way valve components. To this we can issue leaked retighten the bolts or given a
Teflon sealant. If for three way valve usually replace the internal parts like its o ring, whereas in
order to overcome stuck at three way valve do greasing of internal plunger. Stuck in a 3 way
valve because it is dirty or arid.
For ordinary problems popping occurs at PSV. PSV is safety equipment to handle excess
pressure. Each panel of a pneumatic or hydraulic there must have been his PSV. Just like in
the WHCP. When there is an excess pressure, PSV will popping, to release the excess
pressure. When it was popping PSV unbiased back to its normal position, the problem is often
the case. To fix this we clean the inside and then check the setting.
One of the disadvantages of pneumatic systems which use hydrocarbon gas as a source of
power instrument is if the liquid into a pneumatic system. This will cause threeway valve not
working well. If the wrong selection of the material, example the O ring not resistant with
hydrocarbon substances, will certainly damage the o ring itself.
Main Function of WHCP
Local On/Off SSV
Remote control SSV through RTU
HighLow pressure sense shutdown automatically.
Fusible Plug, Antifire Shutdown automatically.
SSV can not be opened unless local reset after shutoff
Function of showing system pressure
Relief Valve shall be installed on each hydraulic circuit to prevent high pressure
Function of showing hydraulic level and level switch for alarm
Function of defending pressure impact of system
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Function of defending exorbitant pressure
Function of system pressure monitoring(by pressure transmitter of control panel)
Function of remote emergency shutdown (by magnetic valve of control panel)
Function of On/Off SSV monitoring (by pressure switch of control loop of control panel)
Function of shield Highlow pressure sense
Types of WHCP
Single wellhead Control Panel
wellhead control panel is used for controlling one well Surface controlled subsurface safety
valve (SCSSV), Master SSV and Wing SSV. SSVs can be shutdown automatically and
manually by WHCP to response all kind of emergency situation.
Single well control panel is categorized the following system according to driven
resource:
Manual control system
Electrical control system
Pneumatic control system
Solar powered control system
Manual control system
Feature and Function: Manual hydraulic pump supply hydraulic control and output pressure for
SSV. Main function includes Remote ESD, Fusible plugs, low pressure / high pressure
sensing, Manual shutdown at panel.
Electrical control system
Feature and Function: Electrical motor driven hydraulic pump with manual pump as standby
will supply hydraulic to control SSV. Main function includes Remote ESD, Fusible plugs, low
pressure / high pressure sensing, Manual shutdown at panel.
Pneumatic control system
Feature and function: Pneumatic driven hydraulic pump with manual pump as standby will
supply hydraulic to control SSV. Main function includes Remote ESD, Fusible plugs, low
pressure / high pressure sensing, Manual shutdown at panel.
Solar powered control system
Solar powered control system is designed to be used for wellhead control located remote area
and desert area.
Feature and Function :Energy conservation, Reduce operation expense, Duel power supply,
Standard control feature
Main function includes RTU shutdown;Fusible plugs;Low pressure/high pressure;Local
Manual control
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Multiwellhead Control Panel
Each control module is drawable and can be interreplaceable without any interruption of other
well operation. Common module include oil reservoir, Pneumatic hydraulic pump and standby
manual pump.
Main function shows as following: Remote RTU shutdown; Fire fusible plugs protection, Low
pressure / high pressure sensing, Manual control at panel.
Well Head Control Panel Working Principle
It is very common in the oil & gas plant to control its oil or gas well through a wellhead control
panel (usually called WHCP). Each well is always equipped with a SCSSV (Surface Controlled
Subsurface Safety Valves) or usually it is called as down hole valve (DHV) and a SSV
(Surface Safety Valves) which is consist of a Master Valves (MV) and Wing Valves (WV).
SCSSV in most application is an onoff valve with hydraulic actuators. While SSV can be
driven by hydraulic actuator or pneumatic actuator depends on the pressure rating. It is also a
need to open or close SCSSV and SSV in sequence and accommodate an Emergency
Shutdown signal from the systems. So what are WHCP and its essential component? This
article tries to explain the WHCP systems in general application and how it works.
WHCP systems usually consist of hydraulic reservoir, strainer, hydraulic pumps, accumulator,
wellhead control module, and hydraulic line which are supply and return to wellhead control
module. Any other parts except wellhead control module are classified into basic cabinet. Each
control module is built up dedicated for one well only. Therefore if there are 5 well in a
wellhead platform, then there will be 1 basic cabinet and 5 wellhead control module needed.
First part of WHCP is a hydraulic reservoir. This reservoir contains hydraulic fluid in sufficient
quantity to operate each wellhead. The size of reservoir is determine through an estimation of
hydraulic fluid needed to operate each actuator, possible leakage, distance from the well, and
an additional safety factor. Usually the hydraulic reservoir is an atmospheric tank with a flame
arrestor venting.
To build up a hydraulic header (high or medium pressure) the WHCP utilize a hydraulic pump.
In general the SCSSV will operate at high pressure rating and SSV will operate at medium
pressure rating. Thus there will be two hydraulic headers at WHCP with its own hydraulic
pump. The hydraulic pump can be pneumatic driven or electric driven depends on criticality
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and operation area. All hydraulic pump suction will have a strainer to filter the hydraulic fluid
from any particulate so that the hydraulic fluid goes to SCSSV or SSV is clean. To make the
hydraulic demand from SCSSV or SSV achievable, the downstream of the hydraulic pump
(hydraulic header) is equipped with an accumulator. It helps the hydraulic pump to supply
quickly the hydraulic demand. This arrangement (reservoir, hydraulic pumps, and accumulator)
usually is called as a hydraulic power pack or a hydraulic power unit.
After the hydraulic fluid accumulated at the hydraulic header (both high pressure and medium
pressure) then it’s ready to supply each wellhead control module. Usually the line from
hydraulic header to wellhead control module is called a hydraulic supply lines. At this wellhead
control module, the sequence and logic to operate the SCSSV and SSV is built up. The ESD
signal mainly also goes to this module. When it needs to open the SCSSV and SSV, it supplies
the high pressure or medium pressure hydraulic fluid to the SCSSV and SSV. In case there is
a need to close it down, the hydraulic fluid supply will close and the hydraulic fluid will goes to
a hydraulic return line through a three way valves selector. This hydraulic return line will goes
to the hydraulic reservoir again.
From this general explanation we can conclude that the wellhead control panel (WHCP) is a
hydraulic system that utilizes a hydraulic power pack and a wellhead control module to perform
its task. The output of WHCP is high pressure hydraulic supply and medium hydraulic supply
to operate SCSSV and SSV. Wellhead control panel is also the interface between the plant
control and safety system with the SCSSV and SSV systems.
Also Read: Overview of HIPPS System
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